Hometeam: St. John's finishes strong against Franklin

WORCESTER — St. John's High saw its run of Central Mass. Division 1 basketball championships halted at five as it lost by two points in the final last season to a savvy and seasoned Milford team.

The Pioneers turned the page on that deflating defeat, but never closed the book on it.

"We didn't finish last year," senior T.J. Kelley said. "Milford wanted it more than us and that's what we emphasized this year. We just needed to want it more than them and we did."

The "them" would be the fifth-seeded Franklin High Panthers, who saw No. 2 St. John's use a 7-0 run over the final 18 seconds to pull away for a 55-48 victory and reclaim the CMass crown Friday night in WPI's noisy and steamy Harrington Auditorium.

"It means everything," said senior Alex Fisher, who has helped the Pioneers go a collective 77-23 during his four years on the varsity. "Every game is our last game and we came through. Last year, we couldn't get it, but this year we took it."

The Pioneers (21-4) advanced to the state semifinals, where they'll meet two-time defending Western Mass. champion Putnam Voke, winner of 32 straight dating to last season, on Tuesday night at the MassMutual Center in Springfield.

Fisher and Kelley, both listed at 6-foot-5, team up with fellow senior tri-captain Charlie Murray, who checks in at 6-2, to form the St. John's frontcourt.

Kelley finished with 13 points, including five in the decisive fourth quarter, while Fisher added four and Murray three. Their combined 20 points was three better than Marcus Giese, Franklin's impressive 6-foot-7 center.

So call it a draw. And from the Pioneers' perspective, that was a victory as Murray and Fisher shined with their gritty interior play at both ends.

"He's a real presence down low," Kelley said of Giese, who is a serious rim protector. "A really long kid who probably had double-digit blocks. We don't have anyone like that to practice against, so it's tough. You just have to adjust during the game."

Kelley helped the Pioneers jump out to an 18-5 lead as he scored eight points, opening the run with a jumper and ending it with one of his three 3-pointers (out of four attempted).

But in a back-and-forth game filled with runs by both teams, Kelley went scoreless over the next two quarters. He regained his touch at the start of the fourth, dropping in a 3 to put the Pioneers ahead, 44-41, with 6:59 to play.

The score would be tied three times after that — at 44, 46 and 48 — but the Pioneers never trailed again.

"Coach Foley always tells me I can never put my head down," Kelley said. "So I just tried to make hustle plays and some of my shots started to fall at the end."

It was deadlocked at 48-48 when the Pioneers emerged from a timeout with the ball and 31.9 seconds left.

There wasn't a set play called as the ball ended up in Murray's hands above the foul line. He got a screen from Fisher, but passed up a drive for a dish, opting to fire a laser through traffic to Kelley, who got free on the baseline and finished off a reverse layup to make it 50-48 with 18 seconds left.

"T.J. saw the opportunity — he's a great player — and he just took it," Fisher said. "It wasn't a set offense. I just saw Charlie had a man on him and I thought he could drive, so I screened for him and it just worked out that T.J. ended up with it."

So now it's on to the state semifinals for the Pioneers.

"We knew we were more than capable of winning the game and we did," Murray said while cradling the championship trophy. "It was thanks to all 15 guys, from the starters to the Red (practice) Squad to the 'sixth man' sitting in the stands. They were great today and it was a great game overall with an awesome atmosphere."

In addition to Fisher, Kelley and Murray, the Pioneers have two other seniors in guard Nana Danso and forward Christian L'Heureux. They didn't play Friday, but were part of a red sea celebration on the hardwood after the buzzer sounded a final time after having played a key role with their efforts in practice.

"It's great to have (three forwards) who are all seniors who have been here before and get along really well together," coach Bob Kelly said. "But I don't want to forget the two seniors who play on our Red Team every day. They come out and bang against the starters every day and play great defense. So it's 15 men, but those (five) kids do a heck of a job."

Contact Rich Garven at rgarven@telegram.com.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.